Move more to stay active in pandemic era

GENEVA: All adults should do a minimum of 150 minutes of vigorous physical activity per week, even more vital for well-being and mental health in the COVID-19 era, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its first guidance in a decade. It recommended that children and adolescents have an average of one hour of daily physical exercise and limit time in front of electronic screens. And people of all ages must compensate for growing sedentary behaviour with physical activity to ward off disease and add years to their lives, the WHO said, launching its “Every Move Counts” campaign. “Increasing physical activity not only helps prevent and manage heart disease, type-2 diabetes and cancer, it also reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety, reduces cognitive decline including Alzheimer’s and improves memory,” Ruediger Krech, WHO director for health promotion, told a news briefing. Yet one in four adults and a “staggering” four out of five adolescents do not get enough physical activity, which can include walking, gardening and cleaning, the WHO said. — Reuters